Slice without fear, cook without bounds

How to Slice Basil

Good evening, friends! So I’m thrilled to tell you that I was on a local TV station’s cooking show last week!

I’m less thrilled to tell you that I wasn’t actually cooking…and they forgot to put me on air for one of the four segments (oops!). But either way it was a super fun thing to be a part of.

I’m helping promote an event in my community that brings together all of the local restaurants and caterers so that people can try out all of the eateries in our hometown. It’s my favorite event because I get to try out a restaurant and see if their staff is nice or not before I actually go into the restaurant. I’m one of those people that always looks up the menu online before going to a restaurant because I get super nervous about things being done a weird way (like hibachi) or not knowing where to sit.

So I got the fun opportunity to wake up at 4:00 AM and talk about the event while real chefs showed people how to make their food. What I learned from this experience is that I’m glad I never became a chef. Every one of them was crazy nice, but they each told me that they’re used to waking up at weird times, missing family holidays, and move around a lot.

Since I only have to wake up at weird times about once a year (for this event), I feel very validated in the life choices that I make that have led me to being able to wake up closer to 8 AM every morning. So thanks Mom for talking me out of being a chef (late nights) or a baker (early mornings)! I now know that you’re always right….always.

So…to all of you other not-chefs out there. Let’s talk for a second about how to slice basil! With this method, it’s actually a super simple process and I can’t wait to show you!

How to Slice Basil

1. Gather your supplies.

Basil

Paring Knife

Cutting Board

2. Pull the basil leaves from the stem.

There’s no need to pull the stem completely off. We’ll cut them later!

3. Stack the leaves.

You’ll want them to be fairly evenly stacked, but don’t beat yourself up over it!

4. Roll the stack into a tube shape.

5. Hold the tube near the stems and make a bunch of tiny slices until you reach your fingers.

Discard the stems.

6. Bon Appetit!

See! That wasn’t hard at all was it? If you don’t want to come back to this page, just remember: stack, roll, slice!

Now, what should I use the basil for? Any suggestions? Let me know in the comments below!